THE 174TH ORDINARY MEETING.
231
thanks should be accorded to Dr. Cooke in appreciation of his share in the
great advance made in the study of Fungi during Her Majesty's reign, and
in particular for the very valuable services Dr. Cooke had rendered to science
and to popular education by the number and excellence of the works he had
written, and for the assistance he had always been so ready to afford to
beginners and earnest students.
This proposal was seconded by Mr. Massee, and carried, amid every
mark of appreciation.
Dr. Cooke replied, in feeling terms, and said that his greatest pleasure
had always been to assist and encourage the young student.
Some time was spent in examining the numerous specimens on the tables,
and then the company took leave of their kind host and hostess.
THE 174th ORDINARY MEETING.
Saturday, November 27th, 1897.
THE 174TH Ordinary Meeting was held at the Head-quarters, in the
rooms of the Epping Forest Art School, 8, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst
Hill, at seven o'clock, Mr. David Howard, President, in the chair.
The following were elected members of the Club :—Miss Rhoda Crump,
Mr. W. M. Paterson, and Mrs. Adair Roberts.
The Secretary announced that the first Annual Club Supper would take
place at the Forest Hotel, Chingford, on Saturday, December nth, and that
an ordinary meeting would be held on the same evening.
The Secretary also stated that the difficulties in the way of establishing
a permanent County Museum of Natural History, had been very largely
removed by Mr. Passmore Edwards' generous offer to build a Museum at
Stratford (adjoining the new Technical Institute in the Romford Road) to
contain the Club's collections. The Town Council of West Ham had
accepted Mr. Edwards' offer, and arrangements were being made between the
Town Council and the Essex Field Club, whereby the Museum would be
maintained by grants from the Corporation and the Club (the scientific
curating being in the hands of the Club) as a public local Museum of
Natural History and Antiquities. This Museum would illustrate the county
of Essex generally, and would also contain educational collections, while the
Museum at Queen Elizabeth's Lodge, Chingford, would be confined to
collections and objects from Epping Forest—the two Institutions being
mutually dependent and illustrative, the one of the other. As soon as the
details were arranged, a full statement would be placed before the members.
The President said that it was a source of great pleasure and satisfaction
that the long labours of the Club with this object in view—the permanent
establishment of a local Museum—were now likely to be crowned with
success, and that the hope that two really good Institutions of the kind, on
however modest a scale, was likely to be realised in a few months' time.